The New York Academy of Sciences is planning a major scientific conference entitled, "Oral- Based Diagnostics," to be held from October 10-13, 2006 at the Emerald Pointe Resort on Lake Lanier, GA, outside Atlanta. The conference is being organized by Daniel Malamud, Ph.D., Professor of Basic Sciences, New York University College of Dentistry and R. Sam Niedbala, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, Lehigh University. Oral-based diagnostics have the potential to detect systemic disease and evidence of exposure to various harmful substances, as well as provide biomarkers of health and disease status. Integration of novel approaches to oral based diagnostics is expanding to include genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and nanotechnology. Improved technologies for diagnostics are resulting in more "user-friendly" methods. Efforts to translate bench assays to commercial products in the area of oral diagnostics have increased recently as witnessed by the appearance of several new oral based diagnostic products in the market place. Collaborative academic, government and industry relationships in this arena are also forming all of which will undoubtedly serve to rapidly advance the field. One of the aims of this symposium is to bring together leaders in the areas of toxicology, pathology, oral biology, dental research, and clinical medicine to discuss advances in the field of oral diagnostics, and to permit the initiation of new collaborations. One outcome of this conference will be the compilation of a bibliography of publications in this area; a second will be the volume of the Annals of the NY Academy of Sciences, documenting the proceedings of the conference. In addition to diagnosis of oral and systemic diseases, analysis of saliva and other oral fluids permits non-invasive detection of exposure to environmental toxins, agents of bioterrorism and chemical warfare, as well as substances of abuse. Moreover, oral fluids provide biomarkers of disease status including those for cardiovascular disease, endocrine disorders, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and many infectious diseases. This conference will focus on advances and new technologies in the oral diagnostics field and their utility for detection of health status. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]